Way Down in the Hole
by modwolves
Summary: They were polar opposites; a hardened redneck with tracking, hunting and archery skills able to live off the land in a post-apocalyptic Hell, and a compassionate school teacher who was protected from most of the dangers of life. They would need each other, and their group, to remain the civilised people they were and live in such danger. Daryl x OC x Shane.
1. Chapter 1

_I do not own the Walking Dead or any of its characters except for Anna - any likeness to any persons, real or fictional, were unintentional. I will stick to the basic storyline as much as I can however I may very well go off in a different direction. This isn't going to be full-on Daryl x OC until a fair few chapters in and there will be themes touched upon that were in the show; abuse, rape, blood, gore, angst, etc. Enjoy._

Shane paced up and down the corridor, his lips pursed and brow furrowed. His heart was racing and, although he would not admit it, he was a little bit scared. This virus that was coursing through the cities and towns like wildfire was like nothing he had ever seen or heard of before. People who were infected seemed to come down with a fever, they would then cease to live. But then they would come back seemingly with no memories of who they were, their loved ones and with a ferocious appetite for flesh.

Things had been looking bad for a whole on the media. The military were being forced into action and setting up base in the major cities for easy access and safety-zones and the CDC were working on a vaccination. It seemed to finally hit Shane's town, and it was that afternoon whilst on parole he witnessed his first incident. He had been the first to arrive at a 999 call, something about a woman being attacked and bitten by her sister who had come down with a fever hours earlier. The caller was screaming and crying, but Shane was careful when he entered the house.

The house seemed to be untouched, until Shane went into the kitchen. The bloodied receiver was dangling off the phone by its cord, and there was blood smeared on the walls. However Shane didn't take these details into too much consideration. What had caught his attention was the body in the middle of the kitchen floor, her vacant eyes staring up at the ceiling and her mouth agape. Someone was leaning over the body with matted hair and in pyjamas, a disgusting munching sound coming from it. Shane prepared his gun, aimed it and spoke "Police." The woman stopped at the sound. "Put your hands where I can see them." She stood up slowly but did not raise her hands. She began to stumble towards Shane growling, her arms outstretched and teeth gnashing.

"Stop or I will shoot." Shane kept his aim but as the woman did not stop he warned her again, before sending a bullet into her chest. She stumbled for a moment as the force of the bullet staggered her but it was useless – she just kept stumbling towards him. Shane shot her again, this time between the eyes and she fell to the floor with a thud.

It unnerved him to see how her eyes looked cold and dead. Her skin was grey and she had blood down the front of her pyjama vest and around her mouth. His stomach turned when he looked over at the woman responsible for the call; most of her stomach was missing right down to her spine, her intestines were half strewn across the floor – or at least the bit that wasn't eaten. It was a gruesome sight, one that Shane knew he would not forget. Once he had composed himself he jogged out to his patrol car, only to hear his radio going berserk. Emergency calls was almost inaudible, panic was beginning to ebb in the town.

Shane had returned home, put in a call to his girlfriend and demanded that she returned home. He had been waiting for ten minutes when the front door burst open. His heart lifted at the joy of seeing her safe, albeit somewhat harassed. He strode over to her and kissed her, holding her head in his hands.

"Shane," she said once he had broken away. Her eyes were fearful "it's here isn't it? The virus." He nodded at her. "Parents were picking their kids up from school, everyone is freaking out. What are we going to do?"

"You're going to gather your things – only the necessities. Food, clothes, that sort of thing. Pack it up and throw it in the bag. We will pick up Lori and Carl and then head to Atlanta." Shane responded, putting his coat on.

"Where are you going?!" Anna demanded, worry in her voice.

"I'm gonna go and get Rick." Shane replied, planting a kiss on her forehead. "Make sure the door is locked, keep this on you at all times. If anyone tries to attack you then aim for the head." He handed her his gun. "Be safe."

Two months had passed since the first victim went down with the virus. Atlanta had been overrun. The military did not manage to keep it as a place of safety. Thousands of people died trying to get out.

Anna was sat on top of the Dale's RV, a water bottle sat between her crossed legs as she scanned the perimeter of the camp with the binoculars and a rifle was resting on her right leg. So much had happened… and there was tension in the air. The tension increased when in the distance an alarm sounded, seemingly to get nearer and nearer. Anna stood up on the RV, with binoculars in hand and trying to source the noise. Other people were coming out of their tents, or stopping their chores to turn their heads.

It was a red sports car, she couldn't tell what it was at a distance. It was racing up the valley towards their camp, the alarm will ringing loudly. That would attract unwanted attention for miles around.

The car stopped, and Glenn jumped out. Dale and Shane ran over to the car, each expressing their anger at Glenn's stupidity. The bonnet was opened, and the battery removed. The alarm sound stopped and silenced echoed around the valley once more.

Anna shook her head. Glenn had clearly enjoyed the joy-ride up to the camp, but upon reflecting the potential consequences he looked a little dis-heartened.

"Where is everyone else?" Lori asked, holding gently onto Carl's shoulders.

"They're on their way." Glenn replied, "We have the new guy to thank for getting us out there." There was a murmur of excitement and trepidation around the group. A new guy could be good, however in their short time living after the virus first ripped through America, they quickly learned not everyone was to be trusted.

Shane was no exception – he had changed more than anyone since this happened. He was distant with Anna, yet still protective of his property. The occasional time they were in the mood for intimacy, it would be in the dead of night and once Shane was done, he rolled over with his back to Anna or would sometimes leave the tent altogether. It made Anna feel more alone than ever when this happened.

A van up rocked shortly afterwards, its occupants getting out of the back and running towards their loved ones. She began to climb down the ladder to greet the rest of their group and glanced over at Shane, his eyes facing the newcomer who had just appeared from the side of the van with T-Dog.

It took Anna a moment to process exactly who it was. She couldn't believe it at first sight. Her jaw dropped a little in disbelief. Sure enough, stood in his cop uniform as if nothing had happened since the day he was shot, stood Rick Grimes. Anna looked desperately over at Lori and Carl, both of whom realising who it was. Carl ran towards his father, Rick's face breaking out into a beaming and tearful smile of relief. Lori was close behind and she wrapped her arms tightly around her husband.

Anna shook her head, walking up to Rick as he let Carl go. "Well, well, well… nothing is going to stop you is it, Rick?" She said, her head shaking in disbelief. Rick smiled at her pulled her into a hug, spinning her around. "It's good to see you, Anna." It was obvious he was overcome with joy. Rick put his arm around his wife and walked off to set up his camp.

As he did so, Anna glanced over at Shane with his hands of his hips and his biting his bottom lip. For a moment it seemed to Anna that Shane was not pleased about his best friend appearing out of the blue. It scared her.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2; - Moving On

"Where's Merle?" Andrea said, noticing that whilst we had added to our group, one noticeable member of the crew was not back. T-Dog looked a little embarrassed.

"Daryl is not going to be happy when he hears about this." Anna piped up, dusting her hands on her worn jeans. Shane's top lip curled into a malicious snarl, like a dog that had been denied meat at the point of near starvation. "What do you care?" He spat at her. A few people in their group noticed the unprovoked attack, Dale in particular gave Shane a concerned look.

"I just meant that Daryl will not be happy –" Shane snapped and strolled up to her, grabbing her jaw roughly and making sure she looked him in the eye. "You listen to me," He whispered his words to her, however it was filled with venom. "You do not talk to that redneck anymore. He and his brother are trouble." He stared hard at her for a few moments afterwards. "Do you understand me?" She nodded into his hand. He let go and Anna took a sharp intake of breath, watching as he stalked away. Her heart was racing in her chest, Shane had not attacked her like that before, and her cheeks began to go red as she realised that the exchange between the two had been witnessed. Dale gave her a sympathetic look and Jim, who had been standing by the RV merely watched as Shane walked away. Jim was never really one to show emotion, but the fact that Anna knew he witnessed it was enough for her.

As Rick settled in and the afternoon wore on, things were relaxed around the camp. Anna, who had gotten over the incident with Shane, was helping Carol with the washing up. Carol had been a victim of domestic abuse for some time. That had become obvious as the group grew to love Carol and Sophia, and grew to tolerate Ed. Anna and Carol had struck up a good friendship over the months, and would regularly opt to do chores with each other. Sophia would join them a lot of the time, and it was the teddy bear that Anna found whilst scavenging for food that Sophia kept with her at all times. Anna's heart panged when she had seen the teddy bear abandoned in the middle of the highway, and she hoped that the child it had belonged to was safe. The bear was in good condition, a pale blue colour although a little bit dirty. Sophia loved it, and Carol appreciated the gesture as a sign of good will. When Sophia had shown her new prized possession off to her father, he had merely grunted and scratched his large belly.

It was whilst Anna and Carol were inside the RV, washing up the dishes, cutlery and cooking equipment from that mornings breakfast, that screams sounded in the nearby woods. Both women jumped in alarm, threw their dishes down in the sink or on the side and ran out of the RV, following Rick, T-Dog, Lori, Jim, Dale and Shane to where the noise occurred. To everyone's relief Sophia and Carl, who had been the ones who had been playing in the woods at that time, were the ones to scream. They flew into their mothers arms and seemed to be unhurt.

"It's over there!" Carl declared, pointing into the direction they had just come. The men of the group moved forward, followed by Anna, followed by Lori, Carol, Sophia and Carl. The group worked out quickly what had the children so scared. A walker was kneeling over a deer and devouring its insides. Familiar arrows were protruding from the deer's hindquarters.

Rick disposed of the walker quickly enough, with groans of disgust from the children. Another rustling brought them quickly on guard again, their weapons raised or aimed. It seemed for that moment that a collective breath was held. With a flurry of the leaves, out emerged Daryl Dixon, Merle's younger brother. It was known that Daryl was Merle's older brother, despite the fact that Daryl seemed a bit wiser than Merle, because Merle would often refer to him as "Little brother." Daryl eyed up the group suspiciously, before his gaze fell to the deceased walker that had finished devouring his catch. "Son of a bitch" he muttered, as he kicked the dormant walker on the side repeatedly. He looked back at the group, spied Anna – which Shane noticed – and looked back at the deer. "Reckon we can cut around it?" He pointed at the flesh with his blade, which was now beginning to turn black and green from the infection. He kicked the walker again as the general group consensus was that the meat could not be saved. "Good thing I caught some sq'rrels then." He indicated towards his belt, in which several squirrels hung.

The group began to make their way back to the camp, Daryl in front. He threw his catch of squirrels on the side and shouted for his brother to make an appearance. Anna seemed to have forgotten about their missing member, as did a few other people as their faces fell. "Umm… Daryl…" Rick piped up, trying to take it as slow as possible. Shane slowed down and stood beside Rick, as did T-Dog who had apparently been the reason Merle couldn't get out of the handcuffs.

"Where's my brother?" He demanded, walking between Rick and Shane.

"There was an incident in Atlanta…" Rick started. Rick began to explain what had occurred. To no one's surprise, Daryl did not respond well to this information.

"You just left him to die out there!?" He shouted, his temper flaring between the three men. "You just left him to die out there like some dog!" Daryl had his knife in his hand and was ready to strike in his temper, when Shane grappled hold of him and held him down.

"We will go back into Atlanta tomorrow, I dropped guns whilst I was there. The door had been bolted shut, the walkers would not have been able to get to him." Rick compromised. "We will get your brother back." Daryl, as he was wrestled on the floor by Shane, had calmed down at this point but the anger remained.

Anna looked at the squirrels lying on the table. She had been a vegetarian before things had gone downhill. However being a vegetarian in a land where safe, vegetarian protein was not easy to come across unless you had the necessary skills to pick out the poisonous berries and fungi, or a reliable store to buy it from, was rather difficult. As such, Anna had eaten her first bite of meat in almost nine years. It was a bacon sandwich about a week after the group had resided in their current location. She could not bring herself to actually gut the things, let alone killing them. In fact, when Daryl had brought back his first doe with Merle, Anna had to leave for her tent because she was so upset at seeing such a beautiful creature succumb to such a brutal ending.

"I can show you if y' want." Daryl offered, getting his blade out and readying the first squirrel. "It's real easy." Anna looked over at Daryl as he approached. She smiled at him, but remembered the threat she had received from Shane earlier that day. "No, no thank you." She glanced around the camp to see if Shane was around, but it seemed he was still in the woods gathering firewood. "I can't stomach it."

"Listen, princess, this sort of skill could mean the difference between life and death at some point. In a world like this you will need all the survival skills you can get." "Daryl, I'm sorry but I can't." Anna interrupted, fear rising in her in case Shane noticed the exchange. She walked away, but felt a little sorry for the redneck. He took a little getting used to, but Anna could see he had a kind soul. His brother, on the other hand, was a rude, barbaric, racist, chauvinistic pig. She felt sorry for Daryl, who had put up with his brothers tormenting ways and had become accustomed to it. Anna gave Daryl and apologetic smile and left him to skin and gut the squirrels.

That evening Anna sat at the camp fire hugging her knees. Rick, Lori and Carl were cuddled by the fire, Lori's head on Rick's shoulder and Carl's head on Rick's chest. Rick was stroking Carl's hear carefully. Anna glanced over at Shane, his eyes were fixed on the family before him. There was no physical contact between Shane and Anna, something that Anna had now become accustomed to. It had been a long time since Shane was intimate with her, even by just cuddling her or reassuring that they would be okay. Yet whenever Anna stood up to go to the toilet or get a drink Shane would need to know where she was, and would threaten to come after her if she was not back within a few minutes. But Anna was not sure if that was down to Shane making sure she wasn't sneaking off to talk to Daryl, of if somewhere deep down Shane actually did still love her and wanted to make sure she was okay. Maybe it was a bit of both.

Anna stood up, told Shane she was going to sleep before he had a change to ask where she was going and left the small group of them to it. She led on her blow-up mattress that evening under the quilt, but kept her ears listening for any noise. It was a restless sleep, but she felt a little bit safer when Shane had zipped open and closed the tent, and rested down beside her.

When Anna had woken up that morning, Shane had already left the tent. She rolled over, still a little sleepy and it took a moment or two for Anna to remember all that had happened. Here she was lying in a tent, somewhere near Atlanta with a group of people she had not met before. And whilst Rick had returned, much to the surprise and relief of everyone who had known him.

Anna got up and brushed her long brown hair, tying it up into a messy bun. She put on her jeans and a dark grey tank top and laced up her leather boots. She rubbed her eyes, it had been so long since she had put on makeup that she had forgotten what it was like to rub one's eye the morning after the night before and smear black mascara and eyeliner around her eye socket.

She had emerged from her tent and blinked into the morning sun as it dappled through the trees. There was a gathering around by the RV, the group were preparing to take off. "Can I come with you?" She asked, talking more to Shane than the rest of the group. Rick smiled gently at her and Daryl readied himself for take-off.

"No." Shane said, "no, absolutely not. You are staying here, you are staying safe." He had looked into her eyes at that moment, but they flickered over her shoulder has he said "I love you."

"I…" Anna had started when she noticed this, "I love you, too." Shane moved away without kissing her, as Daryl booted the horn of the van they had hijacked with his boot. "Let's get a move on!" He had shouted.

Anna turned around at that moment and looked to where Shane's gaze had wandered. Lori was stood there, her arms crossed as she waved goodbye to Rick. She was not happy that Rick was leaving so soon after she had got him back, but for a fleeting moment Anna wondered whether or not…

No, surely not. Lori was one of her closest friends. She would not have betrayed Anna's trust. But it did seem strange that Shane's disposition had changed when Anna had picked him up from the hospital without Rick on that first day. Anna disposed of that thought, and walked over to the RV to help Dale and Carol with breakfast.


	3. Chapter 3

_Hi everyone, sorry for leaving it so long between chapters; with work, socialising, studying, etc it seems difficult to set aside an evening where I can write, which is why I am posting this at 8.30am before I start work. If you have any constructive feedback, please feel free to leave it. Enjoy xo _

Chapter 3

The day had gone by rather slowly. Shane, Rick, Daryl, T-Dog and Glenn had only been gone a couple of hours but Anna was still pacing around the camp. She missed Shane. Not the Shane that had left her that morning. She missed the Shane that used to kiss her good morning when she woke up and leave a cup of tea on her bedside table, stroke her back as they laid on the sofa in the evening as Anna marked her school kid's homework and Shane would watch something on the telly. She even missed the heated arguments they had, when they would be screaming at each other but within minutes they would be laughing and holding each other.

She missed a lot about the old world… There weekly "Come Dine With Me" evenings with Rick and Lori, where they would each take it in turns to cook a two course meal. She missed the children in her school, she missed her job and she missed feeling safe, knowing that the chances of someone sneaking into her house and eating her a live were a lot less than they are now.

"Anna," the sound of her name made her snap out of her reminiscing "Are you okay?" It was Lori. She was walking up to Anna with her arms cross, a small smile on her face. Anna nodded back and smiled.

"Yeah, just a lot on my mind." Anna replied. Then she laughed. "Lot's on everyone's mind I guess." Lori nodded in agreement.

"Does Shane seem…?" Anna hesitated for a moment "… different? To you." This time, Lori hesitated. She looked a little nervous, but it was only for a moment. Lori then smiled somewhat sympathetically at her.

"He does seem a bit more fractious." Lori said. "He's probably stressed, he took on the group as a leader and he is probably feeling guilty about Rick, even if he has returned. Do you want to help me with dinner?" Anna made a mental note of the abrupt change of subject, but agreed to help with dinner anyway.

The moon was shining brightly over the valley. It was actually rather picturesque. The camp were gathered around the fire; Carl was leaning on Lori, Sophia was resting her head on Carol's lap. Dale was roasting a couple of squirrels on a homemade spit-roast and Amy and Andrea were sat side by side. Anna was sat hugging her knees, but she wasn't joining in with the cheerful talk. Ed was in his tent, sleeping off a rather horrendous beating that Shane had given him the previous day for hurting his wife and Jim was sat just away from the rest of the group.

The group were cheerful and in good spirits. For a moment it just felt like friends out on a camping trip, and the only dangerous thing out there were the deer. Lori noticed Anna wasn't really involved in the conversation, and Lori felt a pang of guilt. She thought about the times she and Shane had been together, she had thought her own husband was now dead, wasted away in a hospital and with everything that had gone on Shane had finally admitted he had been in love with her for years.

It was not a good excuse and as she watched Anna sat with her eyes focused on the flames she wondered whether not she should tell her the truth. If she did, what if Anna went off on her own – being in the company of a cheating boyfriend and untrustworthy best friend would have made anyone want to leave – and Anna wouldn't have been safe on her own. Maybe it was best that Lori kept quiet, at least for now.

Amy had stood up and hitched her jeans up. Andrea grabbed hold of her wrist, "where are you going?" Both Anna and Lori snapped out of their internal struggles and looked at Amy.

"I need to pee." Amy had replied matter-of-factly. "Jeez, try to be discrete 'round here…" She walked away towards the RV. Dale and Andrea smiled, and Lori moved her lips to the top of Carl's head, stroking his hair gently. She had closed her eyes for a moment. Anna continued to stare at the fire.

"Hey, Dale! Do you have any toilet paper?" Amy's voiced sounded from by the RV, all eyes looked up.

They all watched in horror as a walker stumbled onto Amy and sunk its teeth into her forearm. She let out a blood curdling scream and Andrea got to her feet and ran as fast as she could as two more walkers appeared from behind the RV.

Screams came from the other side of the camp, as Sophia noticed several more walkers stumbling out of the treeline. Dale and Jim grabbed their guns and began shooting, Carol and Lori protected their children and backed up slowly to the edge of the valley, where a sheer drop was the only thing stopping them from getting somewhere safer.

Anna had jumped to her feet also, and picked up the metal rod which was being used as a spit-roast. It was still hot but the adrenaline of the approaching zombies didn't register to Anna the fact that her hand was beginning to burn. She swung the metal rod as hard as she could, making one walker stumble but didn't quite smash the skull.

She lifted the rod again, using her other hand to steady the metal rod and she took aim, this time breaking open the skull and the walker fell to the floor and didn't move. Her heart felt like it was in her throat. She jogged up to stand in front of Carol and Lori as they protected their children.

Three more walkers approached, Dale and Jim each distracted with their own approaching dead. Anna had managed to impale the head of one walker, but struggled to get the rod out as it remained lodged firmly in the tissue and muscle. She pulled as hard as she could, but there was no chance it would move.

More gunshots were heard within the woods, and Anna hoped against hope that the men were back with the guns.

With two more walkers approaching Anna manoeuvred the rod, now much more heavy with the extra dead-weight. She managed to impale the other walker on the other end and let the rod to floor with the two zombies shish-kebab'd onto the pole.

The final walker was still stumbling towards them and Anna looked around desperately for a weapon. There was one on the floor about a metre away. She looked between Lori and Carol, back at the walker. "Come here," She called, waving her arms in her air to distract the walker from them. She kept her eye on the walker as she walked backwards. "Keep following me, that's it." It was like tempting a puppy towards a treat. Only in this case, the puppy was a flesh eating creature which may have once had a family, and the treat was hopefully a loaded gun.

Anna turned quickly and fell on the floor to the gun. Rolling back over, she took aim and fired the shot. It rang loudly in her ears, and the walker fell on her with a _frump. _With a deep intake of breath, Anna allowed the adrenaline to subside. She tried to lift the walker off her, closing her eyes to focus but she struggled to get her arms in a position where her strength would be able to get it off her.

Moments later she felt breathing became much easier and there was no longer a heavy weight on her. She opened her eyes and saw Daryl re-straightening himself after pushing the walker off her. He held out his hand to her. Her own slightly shaking hand reached out and Daryl seemed to lift her up with ease. It was only that moment did the pain of the burning hot metal began to sink in, and Anna gasped as she realised both hands were blistered.

"Y'alright?" He mumbled at her, checking her over quickly for bites or wounds. Daryl turned her hands over to inspect the wound further.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Anna replied. "Yeah. Are you?" She looked around to look for Merle, but was somewhat confused to not see him around. She was about to ask where he was, before being interrupted by Lori, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her into a tight hug.

"You shouldn't have done that." She said. "That was crazy."

"What was I going to do?" Anna asked, returning the hug with one arm, "Let that walking corpse eat you, or run you off the cliff?"

Lori laughed a small laugh, but hugged her tightly. "Thank you." Carol offered a thanks too, going in for a hug. Then Rick appeared, hugging onto Lori with one arm around Anna.

The small group of them stood there, Anna tensed slightly at the group hug she had found herself in, but appreciated it nonetheless. She looked at Daryl who looked as uncomfortable as she did. "I'm gonna go get ya' some bandages." He said to her. It was then that Lori had noticed that Anna had been hurt, and she pulled away. The hug dispersed then, upon hearing the sound of sobbing by the RV as it brought everyone back to attention and people began to remember this onslaught wasn't without its casualties.

Andrea was hunched down by the RV, cradling her sister in her hands. She was repeating her name over and over again, as if saying it enough times would revive her and she would be okay. Dale remained stood behind her, ready for the inevitable… no one knew when that could be though.

What had started as a relaxed evening had ended up being a disaster, as each member mourned for the loss of one of their own, and someone the group had grown fond of very quickly. The lovable young Amy laid there in her sister's arms as the wounds on her neck and arm seeped blood on the ground.

Daryl walked up to Anna with some antiseptic and bandages. Until then Anna had stared at the two sisters and her heart ached for them both. She wondered if there was a chance that her own family had survived.

"C'mere." He said, gently grabbing her hands and pulled them towards her. Anna barely flinched, but she could still feel the pain. Daryl put on some cream and gently massaged it into her hands before wrapping the bandages around around both her palms.

"Thank you Daryl." She whispered to him.

"What's going on here?" Shane had appeared. Anna sighed heavily.

"Daryl is wrapping up my palms, Shane." She didn't even look up at him. "I burnt them." She stood up to walk away and heard Daryl get up to go as well, before Shane rounded on him.

"What did I tell you back in Atlanta?" He seethed at the redneck. "I told you not to talk to her." Anna snapped; turning on her heel she marched straight back over to Shane and punched him in the nose. She had managed to catch him off-guard. In hindsight he wouldn't have fallen so easily had he prepared himself, but he fell to the floor, his nose already beginning to trickle with blood.

"You need to stop bullying people, Shane." She threatened, crouching down to his level. "No one wants another Ed, do they?" At mention of his name Carol ran off towards the tents. "You do not control who talks to who. And do you think in light of the situation tonight, it is wise to pick fights?" Shane was still in shock and he looked up at Anna as she stood up straight and walked back over to the tents.

Andrea was still sobbing by the RV as the group began to gather up the dead. Shane remained by the RV and left it a while before going back to his tent. Daryl watched from a distance as he did so, and quietly followed him to make sure he wasn't going to do anything he will regret…


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

Shane unzipped the tent, moving the thin material aside as he walked in. He glanced at the bed where he and Anna had slept and realised that it was empty. His heart sunk as fear washed over him.

Throwing the canvas aside he stormed out, looking around for a sign of where she could have been. It wasn't long before he spotted her, and he felt relieved that she was okay. He felt guilty, realising what he had put her through and tormenting her the way he did. Anna was crouched over by the tent that belong to Carol and Ed. Her arm was over Carol's shoulders and their foreheads touching.

As Shane walked over he realised why; Carol had been mourning over her husband whose remains laid in the middle of their shared tent, bloodied and bitten. There was almost nothing left of him. But Shane noticed that although Carol had looked sad at the loss, she wasn't crying. And yet when Shane had pounded Ed in front of the woman only a day or so previously she would have done anything she could to stop Shane. There was no outpouring of love, no begging for him to come back like there was next to the RV with Andrea and Amy.

No, Carol seemed to go between feeling sad, to relieved, to guilty, to frightened. Her body language would fall to relaxed and accepting to tense and on edge.

And Shane didn't want Anna to feel that way if he was to meet such an end. He wanted Anna to be upset that he had gone, not relief that she was no longer under the control of an abusive relationship. He approached the two women, glancing inside the tent at the grizzly scene and comforted Carol with a hand on her knee.

"If y' want, you and Sophia can share our tent this evening." Shane said softly. He glanced at Anna, who until that moment had averted her eyes from him, and she looked somewhat surprised at the act of generosity – she smiled at him gently. It was the first time she had smiled like that at him in a long time.

Carol nodded a thanks, but stated she couldn't leave her husband like that. "Don't worry about that. Get your things together, Anna can help you set up in our tent. I will sort your husband out." A tear finally escaped Carol's eyes as she walked over and prepared herself for the conversation she was going to have with Sophia.

Shane went to stand up and Anna tenderly reached out her hand to touch his. "Thank you Shane. That's very sweet of you." His hand lifted her to his lips. "I'm sorry for punching you." He playfully scoffed.

"You call that a punch?" He joked. She hit his arm. "We need to work on your melee skills. Pathetic." Anna merely scowled.

"Come on, go and help Carol. I'll sort out the one-man buffet here." Shane said, gently pushing her towards where Carol was now hugging a crying Sophia. Shane looked in the bloodied tent, turned his nose up at the smell and began dragging Ed's body towards the pile of corpses. 

Anna was asleep with her back against the wheel or the RV. The sun was starting to peak over the horizon. Hardly anyone had slept that night. Dale positioned himself on top of the RV and kept looking around in the early morning gloom for any unwanted visitors. Carol had remained in Shane and Anna's tent with Sophia, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Carol remained with her daughter out of comfort although she had not slept. Shane, Rick and T-Dog were finishing putting the pile of walkers together, ready for a send-off. Andrea remained hunched over Amy – and there was growing concern amongst the camp that it was only a matter of time before she was going to come back.

Andrea had been approached on more than one occasion that it was time for her to let go, but she often bit the concerning parties head off and told them to leave her alone.

The sun had risen within a couple of hours, basking the remaining group in glorious sunshine. Anna's eyes peaked open and she stretched as she realised her back was stiff from sitting slumped against the wheel – how she had managed to doze off was a mystery to her but she managed it nevertheless.

The fearsome gargling noise brought Anna to her full attention, and she looked around for the source of the noise – a noise that was followed by a set of gnashing teeth and bad breath. It took Anna a moment to realise that it was in fact Amy, and Andrea was looking down at her tenderly as her sister's jaw tried to rip at Andrea's flesh, however her hands were holding Amy's recently re-animated body tightly. Andrea was muttering apologies at her, whispering her name over and over again.

Finally a gunshot had sounded and Amy's body fell limp and lifeless once more. A crowd had formed around Andrea rather quickly when they had realised Amy had turned, everyone at the ready in case Andrea couldn't go through with… it.

Andrea got up slowly and wiped away the tears but in the meantime had bloodied her face with the dark red liquid from Amy's body. Anna's heart sank at the sight and internally cursed how the world had gone to shit so quickly. They had witnessed so many gruesome deaths in the mere two months this had spread and who knows how long this will go on for, or how many other survivors there are out there.

Anna happened to glance over to her right, and saw that Jim was stood by the treeline in the shade. He had his back to her, but Anna couldn't help but notice the blood that was on his hand as he pulled it away from his stomach. Taking a deep breath she marched over to him.

"Jim?" She said softly. Jim was startled, and quickly covered himself up with his jacket. "Is everything okay?" He nodded, blinking the sweat from his eyes. Anna looked at him sternly and he deflated. "Fine…" He surrendered.

His hand lifted up is t-shirt, and Anna gasped at the sight of the gash on his side. It was weeping and oozing. "Jim…" She muttered softly.

"Please don't tell anyone." He pleaded, walking towards her softly. She automatically stepped back.

"You need to tell the group." She said to him. "You need to." A man defeated, he nodded at her but Anna will always remember the look of fear that crossed his eyes as he walked next to her towards where Shane, Rick and Glenn were talking.

"Guys." Anna said, drawing their attention to her and Jim. "We have a minor issue."

Jim moved the t-shirt again to show them the wound. "Please, don't panic." Anna's eyes began to fill with tears. She had grown rather fond of Jim. He was quiet but always watchful of his surroundings, and whilst there wasn't a lot known about his past he was the sort of person who would jump to anyone's aid if they needed it. Glenn turned pale, whilst Rick and Shane silently debated what had to be done. To Anna's relief they didn't alienate him for his wound – a wound he got helping his fellow group. Jim was visibly getting weaker, especially as the sun got hotter. His fever was beginning to spike anyway.

He hobbled over to the shade by the RV and sat on his own. Word spread around the camp quickly, and each person walked to Jim and asked how he was feeling, if they could get him anything. He was a dead man, they all knew it. But with this awful news, the group were informed of Rick's idea to get moving. If the walkers had started to leave the big cities due to low-food source, they would not be safe for long. They were heading to the CDC, which was Rick's initial plan.

Once news had reached Daryl about Jim, he was not happy. He was marching over to Jim, as he rested with his eyes closed by the RV with his knife in his hand. It was Anna who had stepped in front of him and held onto his armed wrist.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She seethed at him, appalled at his lack of feeling towards another human.

"He's a dead man walking anyway. What's the use of wasting our supplies on him, he will be dead in a few hours." He said back, pulling his arm free from Anna's surprisingly strong grip but he didn't move towards Jim who had woken from the confrontation. "What if he comes back and tried to kill us."

"That doesn't make it okay to end someone's life so brutally Daryl. What has gotten into you!?" Anna said, "He is still human, he is still Jim. And we are going to make him as comfortable as possible – got it!?" Daryl didn't seem phased at getting scolded by a woman half a foot shorter than him. His eyes merely narrowed and he walked away, getting his gear together for their departure.

Anna walked up to Rick and Shane. "We can't leave Jim here." They both turned to her and waited to hear the rest of what she had to say.

"Look, we are heading to the CDC anyway. That's not too far. If we get there and they have a cure or something then it would be in everyone's benefit."

"I think you're onto something there Anna." Rick said, smiling at her. "This could just work." Shane, on the other hand, scoffed.

"You're both getting your hopes up. What if we get there and the CDC is like the rest of the city? Walkers everywhere? We are walking to our deaths." He compromised

"What if we get there and it's not?" Anna had argued. Shane bit his lip but knew there was no point in arguing. In this situation, he was outnumbered and Shane was internally seething. "Thank you. I'll get Jim into the RV."

"I'll help you." Rick offered. 

It took a couple of hours, but everyone was ready; Carol and Sophia were in one of the cars with Carl with Lori and Rick in the front. Daryl had the keys to his brothers Harley Davidson, Shane took the open-top buggy whilst Andrea, Jim, Glenn, T-Dog, Dale and Anna were in the RV.

Andrea was solitary by the window, gazing out at the passing world. Glenn and T-Dog were up the front with Dale who was driving and Anna remained with Jim in the back, applying cold compresses to his forehead and feeding him sips of water.

"Thank you." He whispered to her for the millionth time.

"Stop thanking me." She smiled, applying another wet flannel to Jim's forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"I've felt better." Jim admitted, giving her a weak smile. "You?"

"Better than you, probably." Anna joked. There was a small silence between them as Jim kept his gaze on the outside whilst Anna fussed around with getting a bit more bottled water.

The RV spluttered and coughed and finally came to a halt. Anna heard cursing from the front of the RV and released that the vehicle must be in protest. Dale clambered out of the RV with Glenn and T-Dog and Anna could hear the sound of the hood being lifted and the engine being hit with a metal object.

Jim began to cough violently, heaving between breaths – Anna tried to sit him up so he could sip some water and she gently patted his back to ease the coughing. Jim sat back and moaned, sipping the water.

"Just hold on in there." Anna soothed. "We are nearly at the CDC."

Jim shook his head, "This is it. It's too late for me – everyone knows it." He did not say this to get sympathy, it was a fact. "I am as good as dead. And here I am wasting supplies. Daryl had the right idea back at the camp."

"No one is going to hurt you, Jim." She promised.

"That's a lie. That's the biggest lie there is. I told that to my wife and my two boys." His lip trembled as he through of them. "I said it a hundred times but it didn't matter…" Anna remained silent. "They came out of nowhere. There were dozens of 'em. Just pulled 'em right out of my hands." They both silent for a moment as Anna took this in. "You know, the only reason I got away? It was 'cause the dead were too busy eating my family."

Rick walked in to where Jim lie and Anna still looking at Jim with wide, sad eyes. "We'll be back on the road soon." Jim shook his head.

"Oh no." He said, coughing slightly. "Christ – my bones are like glass…every little bump. God, this ride is killin' me. Just leave me here." Anna was about to plead with him. "I'm done. I want to be with my family."

Anna looked at Rick. "They're all dead. I don't think you know what you're asking – the… the fever… you've been delirious more often than not."

It was no use. Jim shook his head again. "I know. Don't you think I know? I'm clear now and in five minutes I might not be." Jim tried to sit up. "I know what I'm asking and I want this. Just leave me here. Now that's on me, okay." He took a few deep breaths. "That is my decision. Not your failure." Rick nodded at Jim understandingly as Anna remained sat staring at Jim, before her turned to leave.

"You're giving up?" She asked. There was something so childish about the way she said it that even she was taken aback about the raw emotion that came through in her simple question. "That's it?"

"That's it for me, I'm afraid." He said to her. "Help me out the RV."

It took a little while, but Anna managed to help Jim out of the vehicle. When he reached the bottom step he was shaking and sweating. His skin was pale and he looked exhausted. Shane rushed over with Rick to help him the rest of the way, to a pleasant little clearing that looked out onto the road.

The group gathered around him as he was settle down leaning against one of the many trees. It seemed so strange, everyone saying their goodbyes with him still alive, saying the sorts of words one would say at a funeral.

Anna let the tears flow down her cheeks as she knelt down by him and planted an affectionate kiss on his knuckles. It wasn't a romantic gesture, for from it, but it was loving. And that was exactly why this new world was hard on Anna. Although she wouldn't admit it, she was quick to make friends.

"You be good." Jim said to her, squeezing her hard as tight as he could. His grip was feeble and shaking.

Anna smiled at him. "I will if you will."

Slowly, the group departed back to their respective vehicles. Anna made a beeline for the back of the RV where she could wave a final goodbye. She opened the blinds, and heard the engine sounding. She saw Daryl stood with Jim now – no words were exchanged but Daryl gave Jim a nod. For a man of very few words, Anna understood that the nod shared between the two was as close as the redneck would get to wish a friend farewell.

The RV began to role and Daryl made his way back to his brother's motorbike. Anna raised his hand up to the class and gave Jim a gentle wave. He slowly raised his arm and Anna could just make out the weak smile across his face.

Jim did have a smile on his face as he waved his final goodbyes to his friends, he spared a thought for Anna. The young woman who, in this would, would be hurt too many times to count. It would harden her and make her cynical and she would not be as easy to trust. Jim was sad that such a beautiful soul would one day be broken and damaged, if she managed to survive.

The group had taken him in at his time of need, after he had watched is family torn apart in Atlanta. They had looked after him, and he them. Whether it was for survival in numbers, or because the human race were still caring, it didn't matter. Jim needed a family to help him survive.

And as Jim watched the convoy of vehicles depart, he knew that in his last moments he was cared about.


End file.
